


Risky Business

by JustYouBenSolo, MilaReyloJennings, MyJediLife, SavingWhatILove, tmwillson3



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Office, Awkward Ben Solo, BAMF Rey, Chief Executive Officer Rey, Corporate Espionage, Eventual Smut, Executive Secretary Kylo Ren, F/M, Mutual Pining, Revenge, Reylo - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:34:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26663764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustYouBenSolo/pseuds/JustYouBenSolo, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilaReyloJennings/pseuds/MilaReyloJennings, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyJediLife/pseuds/MyJediLife, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SavingWhatILove/pseuds/SavingWhatILove, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmwillson3/pseuds/tmwillson3
Summary: When Rey Palpatine rejects an offer of arranged marriage from Ben Solo, he goes undercover as Kylo Ren to work as Rey's PA to find out why she did that without meeting him  and to steal back the corporate design plans that were stolen by Sheev from his grandfather.What he doesn't expect is for Rey to be as beautiful or as much of a ball-buster, or being a PA to be so much work.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 9
Kudos: 54





	Risky Business

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadyRhi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyRhi/gifts).



"Kylo? Where's that coffee I asked for half an hour ago?" Her angelic voice has the edge of a sharp knife. 

He knows that he has to bring her the beverage she ordered finally, but he has no idea what is worse, the quality of said coffee, or his pitiful appearance. He tries to get rid of the stain from his slacks and uncover the mystery of the coffee machine at the same time. None prove successful. He probably has to shove his pride into his pocket and ask one of the receptionists to help him before his new boss fires him for incompetency. 

"Fuck," he curses and leaves the fabric of his slacks to dry. He takes the cup and prays to all known gods that she doesn't dig deeper into the whole coffee failure. 

"Miss Palpatine, here's your coffee. I'm sorry it took so long." 

He bites his tongue because it is only a few hours into him being her PA. Still, he already broke the copy machine (IT guys are his favorite coworkers), shredded documents he was supposed to pass to HR (thank God for Hux), messed up her meetings in the calendar, and didn't put through an urgent call (those buttons are deceiving). Now he made a coffee machine spit on him. He feels that one of them is on the verge of quitting that relationship. The only thing that keeps him from walking away for good is his plan, his secret project that has led him straight into the lion's den.

He has to admit that the lion appears younger and more appealing than he anticipated, but also has very sharp claws.

"Kylo, what the fuck was so hard in making my cappuccino? I didn't ask to go to Starbucks, just push a few buttons on our coffee machine, and why the hell are your trousers wet? I can't believe Hux chose you of all candidates for my PA. I'm beginning to suspect it's an act of revenge from him." 

She looks coldly at him and then at the cup in his hand. 

"Are you going to hand it to me, or will you be standing and gasping like an idiot?" She isn't a patient woman. He puts down the cup on her desk and almost runs away from the room. 

"She's a monster," he complains later to Hux, who drops by to check on him. 

"And you are useless. She may be ruthless, but you, my friend, can't even make normal coffee by yourself, not to mention operate a phone or computer properly. You're a spoiled prince who decided his pride couldn't take the humiliation of rejection." 

"I just want to know her motive to reject the marriage before even meeting me, Hux." _And save my family from market ruin_. That last part, Hux doesn't have to know. He won't understand and definitely won't help him, even with all the dirt he has on him.

"I'm honestly surprised she didn't fire you after the second mistake. She values professionalism. I half-expected that she would fire me together with you." 

Kylo has no idea why he is so lucky so far, but his goal helps him to push ahead even if he would usually resign after the first problem. 

Hux leaves him, but not without warning him to try harder because his job is on the line, too.

Kylo feels a pang of guilt, but it lasts only a second. He has a mission, and he will finish what his grandfather started, or die trying. Well, maybe not die, but with a boss like Rey Palpatine, everything is possible. 

By the end of the first day, he is surprisingly still in one piece. She is still ruthless and impatient, but he is learning fast, just as he always does. It only takes several more missed calls to get the hang of it, but he got it. 

On his second day, he brings in doughnuts as a form of bribery to the IT guys, and they help him out of several more messy situations with the copy machine. They can't save him from himself and Miss Palpatine's wrath every time, but she yells at him less that second day.

He attributes it mostly to a truly unfortunate accident with the coffee machine. Some of the hot coffee has touched his hands, and he reacts by dropping it down the front of his khakis. 

When she first sees the accident, she raises her perfectly manicured eyebrows, silently asking him if he has really just had an accident. He keeps his face impassive, determined to show no sign of his feelings or fear of being fired. 

After he gives her the coffee cup, she dismisses him with a glint in her eyes, saying, "If you want to survive here, you ought to bring a second pair of pants to work. No one will ever take you seriously if you look like that."

He blinks, and for one second, he thinks he saw a hint of a wry smile on her face. When he comes back later with his next assigned task, she yells at him again, but she also explains a little more softly about how to fix it.

It is … surprising. 

She continues to surprise him. She has even more demands for him that second day, and she still threatens to castrate him for mucking up her schedule.

But, he still has the job by the end of the second day. It is a minor miracle after the series of unfortunate events that occurred. 

He brings in a bigger amount of pastries and doughnuts in order to grease the wheels of everyone who has helped him survive, and he has never smiled suavely so much as he asked for help.

He doesn't see Miss Palpatine standing in the hallway, watching him curiously as he spreads his charm and wares with all who can help him. She leaves before he looks that way, but even she is smiling after that.

When he goes to her office soon after, she has a long to-do list for him, and he is relieved that he has heeded her words and brought an extra shirt and pair of pants. He is going to need it with the way he sweats at the thought of getting everything done in time. 

Thank goodness for doughnuts and IT guys. 

Somehow he gets through the third day, but he is pretty sure he has aged two years for every day he worked. It is as he is finishing up one last task for the day that Miss Palpatine comes to his desk. 

For once, she helps him _before_ he screws up the task. 

“That’s the wrong button, Kylo.”

Kylo looks up from the desk he is seated at to see Miss Palpatine standing in front of him. Color-coded maps are in her arms, and she hugs them to her chest. Her hair is styled up into the usual triplet buns that Kylo secretly adores.

His eyes rake down her slim body, seeing she is dressed very femininely as she usually is in her tight pencil skirts with matching high heels that click with each step she takes. She catches him staring, and he instantly averts his eyes to his computer that won’t turn on no matter how many times he pushes on the various buttons. He _was_ going to ask IT to help him with his predicament, but Miss Palpatine beat him to it.

“I—no, I see that.”

Kylo feels himself starting to sweat. He discreetly rubs his hands on his pants under the desk to get rid of the worst moisture. It’s only his fourth day at his new job, and he has trouble with turning on a computer. He knows very well how to do something as simple as turning on a device, but this company has different kinds of technology, more advanced than he is used to.

Miss Palpatine ambles closer to him. She leans across the desk, slightly over Kylo to reach the computer while the other hand still hugs the colorful maps. Kylo has to restrain himself from staring at her cleavage while she pushes a white button on the top. The computer screen lights up, and she steps back again.

Kylo expects his boss to wander back to her office but she doesn’t move an inch.

“Has anyone called today?”

“Called?” Kylo blinks dumbly.

The color drains from her face, and Kylo fears he might have done something wrong again. It’s not the first time he has missed an important phone call. He expects her to raise her voice and yell at him again, but instead she composes herself and asks in a calm manner.

“Is the phone turned off too? Did you forget to pluck in a wire?” Her eyebrows are still raised, giving away how annoyed she is. Despite the furrow in her perfectly styled eyebrows, Kylo can’t help but let his mind wander to how cute she looks when she is angry.

“Um, I forgot. Yes, someone called earlier today...” he immediately adds, remembering someone _did_ call to arrange a meeting with his boss.

“I wrote it down.” He looks at the mess on his desk and starts flipping through his disarray of mixed maps and scattered papers. He wrote the name down on a yellow sticky note somewhere, but he can’t remember where he put it.

“Oh, you _actually_ wrote it down this time? Well, where is it?”

Kylo starts organizing the maps in order, ignoring the annoyed stare from his boss, knowing she has told him three times to place them in order. He finally finds the yellow sticky note, attached to a blue map, and rips it off.

“A Mister Kenobi wishes to speak with you. He wants to know—”

“Good. Find an available time in my calendar, and schedule it.”

She turns to leave, and Kylo hears the clicking of her high heels diminishing.

When he thinks the storm has passed, Kylo feels allowed to leave his desk and take a coffee break, but on his way to the coffee machine, he sees a middle-aged man who quietly walks towards Ms. Palpatine’s office without passing by Kylo’s desk. His face seems vaguely familiar to the young man, but he knows his boss doesn’t have any appointment scheduled at this hour, so he mumbles a couple of curses and runs after the man to catch him before he reaches Miss Palpatine’s office.

“Excuse me, Sir, may I ask you who you’re looking for?” Kylo calls the man with the most polite tone he has in store.

The visitor, who as he notes, wears an elegant and probably very expensive three-piece suit, turns to face Kylo, visibly surprised to be collared this way. Yet he graciously replies, “I came to see my daughter, of course.”

As he sees Kylo frowning, the man chuckles and raises his eyes towards the large picture that hangs above them on the wall of the hallway; Kylo follows his gaze and realizes, bewildered and humiliated, that his visitor is none other than Miss Palpatine’s father, the CEO of Palpatine Enterprises, known under the name of “Palpatine Jr.”. Kylo is appalled by the terrible slip he has just made - mistaking the head of the enterprise he works in for some random client could probably get him fired! And now he silently wishes he could disappear into the ground right now.

It’s surely Kylo’s lucky day though; Miss Palpatine’s father is an affable chap and doesn’t seem to take offense for this unfortunate faux-pas. The CEO of Palpatine Enterprises just smirks and asks the young man, “I assume you’re Rey’s new secretary?”

“Yes, Sir. I mean, I sure hope I still am after I failed to recognize you,” Kylo humbly replies, low-key apologizing for his previous mistake.

Mr. Palpatine giggles and cheerfully confesses,“Personally, I’m not that easily upset. But it’d probably be better for your ass if Rey didn’t hear of this little incident, young man!”

Kylo smiles coyly, pleasantly surprised to find an ally in the very man who’s officially the leader of Palpatine Enterprises, even though it’s a well known fact that he’s only a figurehead and that it’s in fact his daughter who runs the family business.

It also feels weird, but rather pleasant as well, to hear his boss being called by her first name. Kylo rarely gets to hear it, as everyone in the office calls her “Miss Palpatine," him included, of course. Kylo knows that if he wants to obtain what he came looking for when he took the job that his old mate Armitage obtained for him, he’ll have to cut the distance that separates him from Rey Palpatine and gain her trust. He’s painfully aware that he’s nowhere near to become worthy of Miss Palpatine’s trust, let alone her friend. At this moment, he’s not even sure that he’ll still have a job when the day is over!

Mr. Palpatine rewards Kylo with an indulgent smile before asking him, “Bring us two coffees, would you? Black for me with sugar, and for my daughter… well I guess you know how she likes her coffee?”

Kylo nods and lets the CEO join his daughter in her office. He knows the beautiful and reckless Rey Palpatine wants a sugar-free cappuccino, not a simple coffee with milk and no cream. He’s decided not to mess up this time, for he’s certain that her father has a good reason to visit her today, and he doesn’t want to get fired the first time he gets the chance to hear something interesting…

There’s a good reason why Kylo never met Palpatine Jr. before: he rarely bothers to show up at work! Though he’s got the larger office, located on the eighth and last floor of the building, he allegedly spends most of his time golfing or sailing. His daughter is relegated to the seventh floor; yet without her hard work and her natural authority, Palpatine Enterprises would have probably lost the impressive financial empire that her grandfather Sheev Palpatine built a long time ago. 

Kylo smiles triumphantly as he realizes he has finally mastered the coffee machine. It has taken him this job to become conscious of how spoiled and mollycoddled he was all his life: since he was born, he always had someone at his beck and call to do this kind of stuff for him! He was never taught to be self-sufficient and autonomous, which causes him to pass for a stupid idiot today.

Now if he doesn’t improve himself he may miss the only opportunity he has to finish what his grandfather started, many years ago. 'I can’t let that happen,' Kylo promises to himself again. 

Later, as he approaches Miss Palpatine’s office, Kylo hears the raging voice of his boss yelling through the door. A good PA would knock loudly enough to be heard and wait for her to invite him to enter, but Kylo shamelessly puts his ear at the door and listens to the conversation that’s taking place between Palpatine Jr. and his daughter. 

“You’re hardly ever here; why don’t you just let me decide what’s good for the enterprise?” Kylo hears Miss Palpatine ask with an exasperated voice.

“Rey, you know the council trusts you and will validate most of the proposals you’ll make, but they’ll never accept a merger with Obi-Wan Kenobi’s company!” Palpatine Jr. quietly answers. The sound of his voice indicates that he’s trying to calm his daughter.

“They will if you do!” the young woman claims with impatience in her voice.

Kylo then hears Palpatine clear his throat before protesting with a weak voice, “I can’t do that, Rey. You know Obi-Wan was Father’s greatest enemy… Father would turn in his grave if he learned that you’re planning a merger with these people!”

Kylo briefly thinks he should probably knock at the door and enter before the coffees are cold, but he’s way too intrigued by the turn that this discussion is taking and just puts his ear closer to the door to hear better.

“Grandfather is not in a grave; he was burnt after his face was fried by a lightning shot, remember?” Rey says dryly. “It’s not Obi-Wan who’s in charge anymore, Dad, but Korkie, his son. It’s time to make peace and forget the past. Not only can Kenobi and Son bring much to our company in terms of knowledge and financing, but their good relationship with Skywalker Corps could also help us to put an end to this ridiculous cold war! We have everything to gain and nothing to lose, c’mon! I don’t understand what’s holding you back?!” Rey shouts in exasperation. 

This last intervention makes Ben Solo Skywalker's, alias Kylo Ren’s, ears prick up. 'Now,' he thinks, 'it might become interesting.'

“This 'cold war', as you call it, would have ended years ago if you had agreed to marry the old man’s nephew as you were required to,” Palpatine Jr. mumbled.

The noise of a chair being moved resonates through the door, echoed with Rey Palpatine’s angry voice as she snaps back. “Yeah, it would have been so much easier for everyone if I had agreed to become the spouse of this lazy womanizer asshole! I would have surely been a cuckold after our first week together, but who cares, right? Well sorry, I told you then, and I repeat it now: I’m not a cow for you to sell at the fair!” 

Kylo feels his face flush, torn between anger and utter embarrassment, for he has information that Rey Palpatine ignores: _he’s_ the asshole she refused to marry. She can't know because she judged him and rejected him before they even met!

“You’re not a cow indeed, rather a bull…” Miss Palpatine’s father grumbles through clenched teeth. “Whatever, it’s much too late now. This rebuff offended the Skywalkers so much I doubt an alliance with the Kenobi's would fix anything.” He pauses before making an observation that instantly freaks Kylo out. “I asked your secretary to bring us coffee ages ago; did he lose himself in the hallways, or what?!”

“Shit,” Kylo whispers with a very low voice as he considers the coffees he’s carrying: they’re cold. What excuse will he find for that?

“Oh, him? He’s almost as useless as my ex future husband. I’m sure he’s still fighting with the coffee machine as we talk now! Stay here; I’m going to kick his ass,” Kylo’s boss mutters as she walks towards the door.

Kylo panics and frantically looks around, as if a divine appearance could show up and stop time, like the angel Amenadiel in his favorite TV show _Lucifer can_ , but of course, he can only count on himself. He stares at the cups of coffee he’s carrying, before making the quickest and maybe dumbest decision of his entire life.

Just as the door opens, Kylo willingly drops the cups of coffee on the floor, which they do with a loud noise of broken porcelain. His shoes and the lower leg sections of his pants are covered with a smelly mixture of coffee and milk, but it’s the furthest thing on his mind when, as he crouches to pick up the broken pieces from the wet floor, he hears the enraged voice of Rey Palpatine shouting at the top of her lungs. “What’s the actual fuck? Oh, of course, it’s Kylo again! What did I do to deserve such incompetence in _my_ office?!”

Kylo tries his best to look contrite as he raises his eyes to the gorgeous pair of legs that have stopped right in front of him. Even if he’s now sure to lose his job, the delightful view of Rey Palpatine’s slender thighs still manages to distract him. _I may be the 'lazy womanizer asshole' she accuses me to be after all?_ he wonders in silence.

“What the hell am I going to do with you, Kylo?” his boss asks, hands on her hips. “You're a first class idiot, or you've never done anything by yourself! I still can’t decide!” she adds severely, though he witnesses a smirk briefly flashing on her red lips.

_Better to be a first class idiot than a spy._

Ben tries his best to clean up the mess he has created - without letting his boss know just how mesmerized he is by the set of beautiful legs still standing in front of him. 

_Why did she reject me before she even met me?_ Ben thinks wryly as he gathers up all the shattered pieces of coffee mugs, his face reddened as he mumbles an apology and hurries off to remake coffee for his boss and her father.

_Oh, that’s right. Because you got caught fucking the Senator’s wife last year at the Met Gala. That might have had something to do with it. Fucking paparazzi!_

Still, he is here for a reason. Since the scandal he had caused - again - for his family, Ben has to make it right. He has to take back what was taken from his family. He owes them that much.

Running a hand through his hair and cussing to himself as he notices the mess he has created on the fabric of his pants, Ben waits for the coffee maker to do its job, huffing out an annoyed breath as it seems to take ten times longer than normal to finish. 

Finally, the machine finishes, and Ben carefully loads the steaming mugs onto a polished black tray bearing the company’s logo before slowly walking back towards Miss Palpatine’s office. Ben knocks lightly on the door with a large knuckled hand, entering after Miss Palpatine gives him permission to do so.

He offers a mug of coffee to her father first, and as the man takes it, he tilts his head to one side thoughtfully for a moment. “You look familiar for some reason,” he muses, and Kylo stills for a moment, his heart stopping as his brain tells him that the gig is up and he has certainly been discovered.

Mr. Palpatine lets out a chuckle a moment later and says with a smile, “Has anyone ever told you that you resemble the actor from _John Wick_ , Mr. Ren?”

Kylo’s heart starts beating again, and he does his best to play off his mini-heart attack with a smile. “I have heard that I resemble him before, yes. Here you go, Miss Palpatine.” Ben sets the mug down on her desk, his eyes going to some papers resting on the top of it.

There are the plans his Grandfather had drafted for the next great fighter jet - the ones that Sheev Palpatine had stolen from him. Anakin Skywalker would still tell anyone who would listen what had happened, only to be quickly shushed by his children and wife.

‘Let the past die - kill it if you have to,’ they would say. But Kylo knows that he has what he needs to redeem his Grandfather’s life work and help his family - he knows what he has to do, he just doesn’t know if he has the strength.

An hour later, as he pulls the fire alarm and watches as everyone exits the building, Kylo is a bundle of nerves as he goes to Miss Palpatine’s office door, to make sure she is out of the building - of course. As he folds the plans his grandfather had drafted and slips them into his pocket before following behind his boss, he can only smile, knowing that he only has one goal left while working for Miss Palpatine - to win her hand in marriage.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!


End file.
